Silver's last month at Penders Drive wasn't much fun. True, Menniker was now so scared of Silver that he couldn't stay in the same room as him. He didn't get nagged by Menthor or Cynthia anymore, in fact they didn't speak to him at all. Silver couldn't tell if this was out of rage or fear but they pretended Silver just didn't exist whenever they were in the same room. This was an improvement in many was but Silver had to admit it was getting quite depressing after a while. Silver mainly kept in his room with his new Flicky for company. He had decided to name her Lily after a name he read in History of Magic. He had been going through all his books which were full of interesting stories and facts. He read late into the night while Lily flew in and out as she pleased. Silver was glad Cynthia didn't come in to hoover anymore as Lily kept bringing back things she killed. Every night Silver ticked off a box on the calendar pinned to the wall, counting down to the 1st of September. On the last day of August he thought he should probably talk to his Aunt and Uncle about getting the Radical Train tomorrow. He went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show. The moment Menniker, who was still had tips of blue fur, saw Silver he ran out of the room which Silver ignored "Uh, Uncle Menthor". Menthor grunted to let Silver know he was listening "Uh, I need to go to Radical Train Station tomorrow to get to Soleanna". Another grunt "Would it be alright if you gave me a lift?". Another grunt which Silver assumed to be a yes "Thank you". Silver was about to leave when Menthor actually spoke "Funny way for wizards to get somewhere. Train. Magic carpets got punctures, have they? Where is this school anyway?". Silver realised he didn't actually know except somewhere in the Highlands. He checked his ticket "It says I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock". His aunt and uncle stared at him "Platform What? There's no Platform Nine and Three Quarters" "It says that on the ticket" "Barking! Howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to Radical Train. We're going up to Knothole tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother". Silver tried to ignore the idea that there wasn't a Platform Nine and Three Quarters "Why are you going to Knothole" "Taking Menniker to the hospital. Got to have the last of that blue fur off before he goes to Techno Tower".

Silver woke up the next morning at 5 o'clock and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep. He checked his list again to make sure he had everything, checked Lily was safely in her cage and then he started pacing. All Silver's luggage was loaded in the boot of the car and Menniker with some convincing managed to get in the back seat next to Silver. They reached Radical train at half past ten. Menthor unloaded Silver's trunk and used a trolly to take it into the station. Silver thought this was uncharacteristically kind until they reached the platforms. He had a nasty grin "Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine… platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they? Have a good term". He left, Silver watched the three of them laughing as they got into the car. Silver was getting worried and Lily was attracting looks from people. He though about asking someone but he had no idea what he'd say. He couldn't mention Soleanna, the Platform or anything. He had only ten minutes until the train left. Big must have forgotten to tell him something, maybe he had to tap the ticket box with his hands or something "Packed with Muggles of course". Silver swung around with relief washing over him. The speaker was a red echidna woman with a green cloak and blue hood. She was with her family whose appearance surprised Silver. Living with a family of echidnas his whole life Silver was amazed to see a family that not one was the same species as the other. The Echidna woman's children consisted of an older boy who was a pig wearing a blue uniform. Two boys a few years older than Silver, one a black and red armadillo and the other a yellow squirrel. There was a tall boy who looked the same age as Silver who was a shark and a young lilac cat girl with her hair down. She looked even younger than him was holding her mother's hand. Silver pushed his trolly after the family as the cat looked upset "Mum, can't I go" "You're too young, Blaze, And don't be too loud".

They stopped near one of the stone pillars in between Platforms Nine and 10 "Alright, Hamlin, you first". The pig took his trolly and sprinted towards the stone pillar. All the Muggles in the station seemed to not see him as he suddenly vanished through the stone. Silver's mouth fell open. The woman glanced back at the squirrel "Alright, Mighty" "I'm Ray!" "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother" the armadillo added. The echidna sighed "Sorry, Ray, on you go". The squirrel like the pig before him ran at the pillar and disappeared followed by his armadillo brother. Silver was no closer to figuring out how they were doing it, there was nothing else to do. Silver nervously walked over to the woman "Ex-Excuse me?". The woman turned around and pleasantly smiled at him "Hello, dear. First time at Soleanna?" "Uh, yes… Do you know… How to…" he didn't know how to say it. She seemed to understand "How to get onto the platform?". Silver nodded feeling slightly ashamed of his own ignorance but the woman was nothing but helpful "Don't worry, dear, it's my son Razor's first time as well". She gently took Silver's arm and pulled him to the spot where the other boys started their run "My name's Mari-An by the way. Now, it's quite simple. All you have to do is walk straight at the wall. It's usually better to run if you can. You can go before us". She stepped back and Silver took a gulp "Uh, thank you" "Good luck" Blaze said. Silver took a breath and started running, he was going to crash right into the wall and get in trouble. It closer and closer, too late to stop now. He closed his eyes waiting for the crash which didn't come. He felt a strange sensation like something was grazing around the outline of his body. Once it stopped Silver opened his eyes to see he was now on a busy platform. On the tracks was a white train with a glass star on the front and a sign on the wall above it said "Platform Nine and Three Quarters" he had made it. Silver made his way down the platform trying to find a carriage that had space. Almost every one he passed already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats.

He passed a young Cayote wearing a red cape and a sword in a sheath. The boy spoke to an elderly wolf woman "Gran, I lost my Micky" "Oh, Antione" the old lady said. Silver passed a green hedgehog wearing a vest who as surrounded by a small crowd "Come on, Manic, give us a look". Manic opened a box under his arm revealing a hairy long leg trying to get out, everybody jumped. Silver found a carriage with an empty compartment and quickly took it. He tried to get his trunk over the step onto the train but it was too heavy "Want a hand?". Silver saw that it was Ray, the squirell from earlier "Yes, please" "Hey, Mighty, get over here". With their help Silver was able to get his trunk into the compartment and lift it along with Lily's cage onto the railing above "Thanks" Silver said. Silver noticed the two staring at him with sudden realisation "Blimey, are you…" "He is…". Silver didn't understand "What?" "Silver the Hedgehog" they both said together, "Oh, him. I mean, yes, I am" Silver didn't realise his nervousness was making his eyes turn yellow. The two gawked at him making Silver feel uncomfortable. He was relieved when "Mighty, Ray, where are you?" "Coming, Mum!". They both nodded to Silver before stepping back off the train. Silver sat down next to the window where half hidden he could watch the family talking on the platform. Mari-An took a handkerchief "Razor, you've got something on your nose". Razor tried to move but his mother grabbed him and wiped his nose "Mum, geroff!". Mighty laughed "Aw, has ickle Razi got somefink on his nosie?" "Shut up!". Hamlin came over, if Silver hadn't already read his list he would have thought the outfit he was wearing was a school uniform. Silver noticed a badge on his shirt in the shape of a P "Can't stay long, Mother. I'm up front, the Prefects have got two compartments to themselves". Ray pretended to look shocked "Oh, are you a prefect, Hamlin? You should have said something, we had no idea". Mighty stroked his chin thoughtfully "Wait, he might have mentioned something about it. Once, twice… a minute. All summer" "Shut up!" said Hamlin the Prefect. Mari-An glared at the two boys before smiling at Hamlin "Okay, dear, , have a good term, send me a Flicky when you get there" she kissed him on the cheek and he left. Mari-An then turned and glared at her two sons "Now, you two – this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more Flicky telling me you've- you've blown up a toilet or-" "We've never blown up a toilet" "But that's not a bad idea. Thanks, Mum". Mari-An rolled her eyes "It's not funny. And look after Razor" "Oh, Ickle Razi will be safe with us" "Shut up!". Razor was already almost as tall as both of them yet that didn't seem to stop their mockery.

Mighty suddenly remembered "Hey, Mum, guess what. You know that hedgehog near us on the station? Know who he is?" "Who?" "Silver the Hedgehog". Silver couldn't see her but he heard a little girl's voice "Oh, Mum, can I go on the train and see him, please" "You've already seen him, Blaze. The boy is not something you gawk at in a zoo". Mari-An looked concerned "Are you sure, Mighty? How do you know?" "Asked him. And it's true, his eyes change colour". Mari-An looked sympathetic "Oh, the poor dear. No wonder he was alone. He was so polite when he asked me how to get on the platform". Ray dismissively waved his hands "Never mind that. Do you think he remembers what You Know Who looks like?". Mari-An started to look quite scary "I forbid you from asking him anything! Don't you dare! As if he needs reminding of that on his first day of school" "Alright, keep your hair on". The train whistle went off "Quickly, get on". They three boys clamoured on and they were forced to stick their heads out of the window so their mother could kiss them. Blaze started to cry "Don't worry, Blaze, we'll send you loads of Flickys" Ray said. Mighty nodded "Yeah, and a toilet seat" "Mighty!" "Only joking, Mum". The train started to move, Blaze ran next to the train until it gained too much speed. Silver watched the girl, her mother and the station disappear. Houses and buildings past by until he was out of Knothole. He was so excited, he had no idea where he was going but it couldn't be worse than what he was leaving behind. The door to the compartment opened and Razor stuck his head in "Is anyone else sitting in here. Everywhere else is full" "No, it's just me". Razor sat down opposite Silver. He glanced at him and then quickly looked out the window pretending he didn't "Hey, Razor".

Mighty and Ray were at the door now "Listen, we're going to the middle carriage. Manic's got a Bzzz" "Right". Ray looked over to Silver "We forgot to introduce ourselves, Silver. Ray the Squirrel and Mighty the Armadillo. And this is our little brother Razor the Shark. See ya both later" "Bye" Silver and Razor said together. After a few moments alone Razor blurted out "Are you really Silver the Hedgehog?". Silver nodded surprising Razor "I thought it might have been one of Mighty and Ray's jokes. Do your eyes really…?". Silver concentrated and his blue eyes turned gold. Razor couldn't stop staring "So that's where You Know Who…" "Yes, but I don't remember it" "Nothing?". Silver shrugged "Well, I remember a lot of gold light but that was it" "Wow". Razor stared in amazement for a few moments before realising what he was doing so quickly looked back out the window. Razor didn't realise Silver found him just as interesting as he found Silver "Are all your family wizards" "Er, yeah, I think so. Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant but we don't talk about him" "So you must know loads of magic already". Silver easily assumed that Razor was part of one of the old wizard families the boy in Avalon talked about. Razor nodded but not with much confidence "I heard you went to live with Muggles. What're they like?" "Horrible… Well, not all of them. But my aunt and uncle are. Wish I had three wizard brothers". Razor scoffed and had a gloomy expression "Five. I'm the sixth in our family to go to Sloeanna. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Ash and Rotor have already left. Ash was Head Boy and Rotor was captain of Sky Chase. Now Hamlin's a Prefect. Mighty and Ray mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Rotor's old amulet and Hamlin's old Chao".

Razor took out a yellow hat and a green bandolier which Silver assumed to be his Amulets. Unlike Silver who hadn't taken his off since he got them Razor seemed ashamed of his. A bright green Chao then climbed out from behind Razor who grabbed him "This is Wacky and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Hamlin got a Flicky from my dad for being made a Prefect, but they couldn't aff– I mean, I got Wacky instead" he looked like he thought he said too much as he quickly looked out the window again. Silver didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford a Flicky, Silver hadn't had any money his entire life so he wouldn't be one to talk. He made Razor feel better by telling him all about his family, having Menniker's old gloves and shoes, sleeping in a cupboard "And until Big told me I didn't know anything about being a wizard, or Soleanna or Finitevus-". Razor gasped making Silver jump "What?" "You said the name. I thought you of all people" "I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name. I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn ... I bet I'm the worst in the class". Razor shook his head "You won't be. There are loads of people from Muggle families and they learn quick enough". The compartment doors opened and an elderly bee pushing a cart looked inside "Anything off the trolly, dears". Razor muttered something about having sandwiches while looking at the floor.

Silver however didn't have any breakfast and having money for the first time made him want to buy all the sweets he could carry. When he got closer to the cart however he realised none of them were sweets he'd seen before. Berti Bott's Every-Flavour Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Liquorice, Wands and a number of other strange things Silver had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver rings and seven bronze ones. Razor watched Silver tip his sweets onto an empty chair "Hungry, are you?" "Starving". Razor opened his bag and took out some sandwiches "She always forgets I don't like corned beef" "Swap you for one of these". Razor looked surprised "You don't want this. It's all dry. She hasn't got much time" he added quickly "You know, with five of us" "Go on, take something". Silver had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Razor, eating their way through all Silver's pasties and cakes (the sandwiches lay forgotten). Silver picked up a small box that said "Chocolate Frogs" "They're not really chocolate frogs, are they?" nothing would surprise him at this point. Razor laughed "No, but tell me what the card inside is. I've got 200 but I'm still missing a few". Silver opened the box and checked the card inside. It had a picture of a red echidna with a white beard. Underneath the picture was a familiar picture "So this is Locke the Echidna" "Uh, I've already got five of him. Can I've one". Silver passed him a box before reading the card:

Locke the Echidna, currently Headmaster of Soleanna.

Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern

times, Professor Locke is particularly famous for

his defeat of the dark wizard Mephiles in 1945,

for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's

blood and his work on alchemy with his partner,

Mammoth Mogul. Professor Locke enjoys

chamber music and tenpin bowling

Silver looked back at the picture and was shocked to see that Locke was gone "What?" "Well, you can't expect him to stay all day. He'll be back. I've already got these one". Razor gave them back to Silver "Here, you can start collecting" "Thanks". Silver thought Razor wanted to check out the rest of the boxes "Help yourself but just so you know, in the Muggle Word people stay in the photographs" "Really? Don't move at all? Weird". Silver went for the every flavoured beans next which caught Razor's attention "You'll want to be careful with those. When they say every flavour they mean it. Ray reckons one he had was bogey flavoured". He tried a green one and spat it back out "Uh, sprouts". Silver and Razor both had a good time trying the others. Silver got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny, grey one Razor wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper. Silver started to notice the country side out the window was getting wilder, no more neat fields and small villages, now there were dark forests and rivers. There was a knock at the door and the cayote Silver saw on the platform came in "Sorry, but have either of you seen a Micky?". They both shook their heads which upset the boy "I've lost him. He keeps getting away" "He'll turn up". The boy left and Razor shrugged "I don't know why he's upset. If I had a Micky I'd lose him as quick as I could... Mind you, I've got Wacky so I can't talk". Wacky was sleeping on Razor's leg "He could've died and we wouldn't tell the difference. I have a spell to turn him yellow but it hasn't worked so far. I'll show you".

He took out his brothers old amulet and secondary and put them on, they didn't fit quite right. Just as he raised his hands the door opened again. Antione was back but this time he was accompanied by an orange betta wearing a green dress and turban "Has anyone seen a Micky. Antione's lost one" "No, we still haven't seen him" Razor answered. However the girl was staring at his gloves and hat "Oh, are you doing magic. Let's see then" she sat down next to Silver to watch him. Razor was taken aback "Eh, alright". He cleared his throat "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, Chao yellow". Nothing happened, the Chao remained green and asleep. The girl giggled "Are you sure that's a real spell. Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard. I've learnt all our set books off by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough. I'm Coral the Betta, by the way, who are you?" she said all this very fast. Silver looked to Razor whose stunned face reassured Silver that he had not learned all the books off by heart either "Uh, I'm Razor the Shark" "Silver the Hedgehog". Coral gasped "Are you really? I know all about you, of course. I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century" "I am?".

Coral was now horrified "Don't you know? I'd have found out everything I could if it was me. Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Shinobi, it sounds by far the best, I hear Locke himself was one, but I suppose Gossamer wouldn't be too bad. Anyway, we'd better go and look for Antione's Micky. You two had better get ready, you know, I expect we'll be there soon" and she left, taking the boy with her. Razor gave out a long relieved sigh "Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it". He took off his amulets and put them back in the bag "Stupid spell. Ray gave it to me, probably knew it was a dud". Silver wanted to learn more about these houses "What house are your brothers in?" "Shinobi". The answer seemed to bring back Razor's gloomy expression "Mum and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Gossamer would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Raiju. That's the one You Know Who came from". This surprised Silver "Fini- I mean You Know Who went to Soleanna?" "Of course. He'd have learned it somewhere". This made Silver wonder what wizards do for jobs besides shop keepers "What do your brothers do who are out of school?" "Rotor is in Vesuvio studying Dragons and Ash is in Mazuri doing something for Nameless. Did you hear about what happened at Nameless? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles. Someone tried to rob a high security vault". Just from what little Silver had hear he knew this was a big deal "Really? What happened to them?" "Nothing. That's why it's such big news. They weren't caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Nameless, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it". Silver had to admit all this You Know Who talk was making him more fearful than just saying Finitevus "I don't know about Sky Chase. What's that like?" "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world…".

And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the board he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Silver through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Antione or Silver the Hedgehog this time. Three boys entered and Silver recognised the middle one almost immediately. It was the echidna from Sophia's still wearing his blue vest "Is it true? They're saying all down the train that Silver the Hedgehog is in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" "Yes" Silver answered. He looked at the other boys, two skunks one blue and the other white, very strong looking. They stood on either side of the echidna like bodyguards. The echidna noticed that Silver was looking at "This is Rough and Tumble. And my names Rutan". Razor gave a cough that might have been used to hide a snigger. Rutan noticed "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask yours". He looked at Razor old torn bag and his amulet being clearly too big for him "My father always told me the O'Hedges had more children than they can afford", Razor ignored him. Rutan looked back to Silver "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Silver. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there". Rutan held out his hand but Silver just stared at it "I think I can tell the wrong sort for my self, thanks". Rutan's face twitched "I'd be careful if I were you, Hedgehog. Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riff-raff like O'Hedge's family and that oaf Big and it'll rub off on you". Razor and Silver both jumped to their feet "Say that again!" "Oh, are you going to fight us are you" "If you don't leave" Silver answered.

He began to notice how big Rough and Tumble were compared to them and started to question whether stupidity was motivating him rather than bravery. Rutan grinned "But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys. We've eaten all our food and you still have some". Tumble reached towards the pile of sweets. Razor was about to leap on him but before he could Tumble let out a terrible yell. Wacky was hanging off Tumble's knuckles by the teeth. Rough and Rutan backed away as Tumble swung Wacky round and round, howling, and when Wacky finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more mad Chao lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Coral had come in "What's going on?". Razor picked up Wacky "I think he's ben knocked out… No, wait… I can't believe it. He's gone back to sleep". He went back to his seat "You met Rutan before?". Silver explained his story of meeting him at Avalon, "I've heard about his family. They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Rutan's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side". He noticed Coral still standing at the door "Can we help you with something?" "You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there" "Wacky has been fighting. Not us". Something was thrown past Coral's head which made her roll her eyes "I came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors".

She left and Silver realised the outside had gotten very dark but he could see the outlines of mountains. A voice echoes through the train "We will be reaching Soleanna in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately". Silver's stomach lurched and he was happy to see that Razor's nerves weren't fairing much better. The train came to a stop and everyone clamoured out into the cold night air. A large light shined over them being carried by someone with a familiar voice "Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here! All right there, Silver". All the first years followed Big down a steep stone path with thick trees on either side. There wasn't much talking until "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Soleanna in a sec". There was a collective "Oooooh". The narrow path had opened suddenly on to the edge of a great black lake. Resting atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. Big gestured to a small fleet of boats in the water in front of them "No more'n four to a boat". Silver and Razor got into one of the boats along with Antione and Coral. Once everyone was in Big from the large lead boat yelled "Forward!" all the boats moved all at once gliding across the water. No one spoke, they were all mesmerised by the sight of the castle towering over them. The boats took them into a small cave "Heads down!" Big said. They did until the boats finally stopped at an underground harbour. As they all climbed out onto the rocks Big went over to Antion "Oi, this yours". He held out a little Micky "Griffin" Antione said blissfully as he took it. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Big's lamp, coming out at last on to smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. Big raised his fist and knocked three times on the door.